Property values hard to pin down as city swaps Kelowna Springs land with developer

The City of Kelowna decided to take control of the Kelowna Springs Golf Club in exchange for an empty plot of land after years of controversy around the club’s development.

The city was given 60 acres of the Kelowna Springs Golf Club in exchange for 9.1 acres of land at 3199 Hollywood Road North in a deal with developer Denciti Development Corp.

The Kelowna Springs Golf Club property is assessed at $5.3 million by BC Assessment, but the property at 3199 Hollywood Road North doesn’t have a publicly available value assessment.

The City of Kelowna and Denciti Development Corp. were unable to give iNFOnews.ca an approximate value for 3199 Hollywood Road North.

Derek Edstrom, the city’s director of partnerships and investments, said the land swap is still being negotiated and since the Hollywood Road North property is a new parcel, it hasn’t been assessed yet.

He said the Kelowna Springs BC Assessment value is also low, but didn’t disclose a higher estimated value since the negotiations with Denciti are ongoing.

The section of Hollywood Road North that would lead to Denciti’s new property doesn’t actually exist yet, but the city has plans to build it as part of a vision for a new bus exchange.

“It’s the future transit exchange or transit centre will be at that location. And we have excess industrial land that is not required for the total of that buildup so that’s available to swap for this municipal purpose,” Edstrom said.

The land swap deal has some conditions.

One of the conditions is city council needs to approve the industrial rezoning of Denciti’s remaining 46 acres next to the golf course.

The city is going to own Kelowna Springs, and lease it out to the existing operator. The city already owns two other courses with the same arrangement, Shadow Ridge Golf Club and Michaelbrook Golf Course.

The land swap deal hasn’t changed Denciti’s development plan for the course. The nine-hole golf course will stay and Denciti is going to build an indoor pickleball facility as part of the development.

“We remain focused on advancing plans for the western portion of 480 Penno Road, as outlined in the development application submitted last spring,” Denciti’s CEO Garry Fawley said in an email. “Our commitment to collaboration with the city and residents remains central as plans for both sites take shape.”

The development of Kelowna Springs has been controversial for years, and this deal could bring the saga to close.